Sandra Gómez, deputy mayor of Valencia and candidate for mayor of the PSPV, this Friday in the Petxina super block. MONICA TORRES
Sandra Gómez (Valencia, 37 years old), deputy mayor and candidate for mayor of the PSPV-PSOE, is going full throttle. It has been an intense week with many debates and the main party event planned for this Saturday in Valencia. The candidate chose the Petxina superblock for the interview because it also represents the future model of a city, with squares and parks for residents to enjoy. “We want neighborhoods that are an extension of our homes. Let people come together here and share their time.” In his program, he collects seven more in areas where there is no possibility for parks and pedestrian zones.
Questions. The polls show a very narrow result between the left and the right block and a high proportion of undecided.
Answer. With no less a percentage of undecided, the PSPV is on the rise and leading them. We show that we have a project for the city, we know what we want for Valencia and what we don’t want. I have the desire and the strength to lead the future.
Q During the election campaign he insists that it is time for the Socialists to retake the mayoralty of Valencia after 32 years. why is it time
R We cannot go back to the past of corruption, of cuts and privatizations, of economic bankruptcy and unemployment. And we socialists are not a continuity, we are the beginning of a new stage and I sincerely believe that we can lead the future better. I have eight years of experience in the Valencian Government; I was Councilor for Police, Employment and Economic Development and Urban Planning and am now Deputy Mayor. So I think I have the necessary experience. Sometimes women find it harder to talk about the things we do well. I want to end this campaign with this imposter syndrome because sometimes there are others who wear the medals of our work. Much of what we are proud of in Valencia bears the name of a woman.
Q In addition to being a woman, she entered politics at a young age. Was it complicated?
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R There is a lot of trolling on social media. It’s always difficult for a woman. Look at the few real spaces of power that dominate women. And when you’re young, it’s even more complicated. I was young, educated and capable when I entered. And after these eight years in government I have a lot of experience; actually the same as the mayor, no more and no less. I’m very proud of the place I’ve earned because no one gave or gave me anything. I make my own decisions and exercise real power.
Q In recent weeks, several ministers from the Spanish government and the President himself have come to support them. What is at stake for the PSOE in a place like Valencia?
R I want to talk about local because I’m running for mayor of the city. We have a project for the residents here that isn’t about what the right wants to talk about, it’s about national politics. I find the PP’s campaign to make these elections a kind of primaries for the general election unfortunate. When you run for local elections, the first thing you need to do is explain to your neighbors how useful you are as mayor. And I didn’t hear any answer from the PP, only a plan against Pedro Sánchez, the noise, the intoxication, the mud. We’ve done a job and a project: we’re job creation leaders, we’ve got healthy accounts, and we’re not the capital of corruption, either at Belt or Orange Market. We are the city of HP, Lufthansa, Siemens or Volkswagen and the PP cannot counteract this and therefore tries to cloud the campaign.
Q The opposition accuses him of “agreing” to certain Compromís guidelines.
R The opposition have to say that to create tension, but everything went well. And there will be those who think that the socialists take clear positions that are unduly different from those of compromise. I’ve done what I thought was appropriate at all times within the framework of stability. When you sign a government pledge, you must provide political stability. I put the Valencians first with progressive and own criteria, not like the PP which looks like an offshoot of [Alberto Núñez] Feijóo.
Q Why hasn’t more social housing been built in these eight years?
R There are currently 2,000 under construction, which is always difficult for the opposition to see.
Q They say they only built 14 social housing units.
R 14, with keys. But the thing is that while you decide you want to build and the construction is done, two or three years go by. If you walk down Calle de San Vicente you will see the construction of 1,100 houses, in Las Moreras there are 200 more, in Tarongers there are another 70 houses under construction and in the old town there are about 50 more. The reality is that 2,000 houses are under construction while the PP left us 200 after 24 years of government.
Q The positions regarding the northern extension of the port of Valencia appear to be incompatible with the compromises. How will they solve the problem if they manage to reappoint the government?
R As mayor, I require that any infrastructure that is developed be environmentally sound, but I want a competitive city and that means we need to improve our facilities. If we want to attract investment, we need a competitive port. Otherwise the Volkswagen would never have come. today exactly [por ayer] President Ximo Puig has announced that there are 10 new industries that want to establish themselves in the Valencian Community and that this would not be possible without a port.
Q Cabanyal’s plan is approved in extreme cases. Benimaclet’s plan has stalled and Grau’s plan has just been defined. Is there an urban traffic jam?
R We will approve a plan for Cabanyal-Canyamelar: where the PP wanted to destroy a neighborhood, we approved a plan to protect it. If you were to ask me which party did the most damage to a neighborhood in all of Spain, I would answer: the PP of Valencia al Cabanyal. The Grau Plan, another Pufo bequeathed to us by the PP, was released after an agreement with the owners; And then we have the Benimaclet plan, where there is a special plan because the residents weren’t happy with the outcome of the PAI.
Q He has tried to stem the spread of tourist housing in Valencia and is now proposing a two-year city-wide moratorium when he governs. Will he make it? Because the courts have objected to the restrictions in Ciutat Vella.
R Yes, they demolished it, but not because we couldn’t put restrictions on new apartments, but because of a more technical issue. Now in two years we do not want to open a single tourist apartment in the city and develop new planning tools that will limit their spread.
Q The crisis of the new Mestalla is another hot topic in the city. What will happen?
R The Ciudadanos, the PP and the Compromís have stood out over the years or even collaborated with Meriton and now that the elections are coming up they are all trying to reposition themselves because Valencia CF’s situation is very complicated. Socialists have always said the same thing. He asks me if he has a solution. It must be so, we have already laid some groundwork: I signed some municipal conditions, I nullified the ATE (Strategic Territorial Action) that the PP had approved, dangerous because it would lose municipal rights in favor of Peter Lim and we would have been left without a stadium and penniless. And now everything is very complicated.
Q And how will this all end?
R It will end the way Valencia City Council wants it to because we are the ones who have the power and if we like it (in a nod to Meriton) we will let them sell and go.
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